More than 100 students and staff were arrested last night at New York University (NYU), as protests over the war between Israel and Hamas reached a boiling point.
Recent days have seen an escalation of long-running, largely pro-Palestinian protests at some of the country’s most prestigious educational institutions.
Protesters at NYU, Columbia and Yale have presented various demands to their universities, including that they end their relationships with the universities of Israeltake tougher action on the war and divest from military arms manufacturers with ties to Israel.
This led to growing tensions on campus, which became hotbeds of protest, with some Jewish students saying they feared for their safety.
Massive protests have swept American universities since the Hamas attacks on October 7. Israel’s response which is said to have killed more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
Protests came to a head Monday evening when universities responded and police were called.
At NYU, police officers rushed the crowd shortly after setting a 4 p.m. deadline for dispersing the protest and claimed the demonstrators had been joined by people “who we believe were not affiliated with at NYU.”
Several tents had been set up on the square where many people were demonstrating. A group of pro-Israel counter-protesters were also present in the square Monday afternoon.
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On Monday evening, a line of university staff members locked arms in front of protesters to protect them from police before they themselves were arrested and taken away.
As protesters confronted the police, they chanted: “We will not stop, we will not rest. Disclose. Divest. »
Police appeared to use a sledgehammer on protesters, with one student saying it was used “liberally.”
A New York Police Department spokesperson confirmed that 120 people were arrested, 116 of whom were released with a summons for trespassing, giving them a later date to appear before a judge or magistrate.
The other four were issued appearance notices for more serious offenses, meaning they must appear in criminal court at a later date.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said the university requested police to come to campus, adding: “Our officers responded to the scene without delay and dispersed the crowd – making numerous arrests, if necessary.”
At Yale University in Connecticut, protests reportedly grew and “included several hundred people – undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, as well as people with no affiliation with Yale.” , according to a university press release.
He said the Yale Police Department summoned 47 students.
Last week, more than 100 students at Columbia University in New York were arrested after the administration called to report that the students posed a danger to the campus.
NYPD Patrol Chief John Chell told the student newspaper that there were no reports of violence or injuries and that the students were “peaceful and offered no resistance.”
Robert Kraft, a major Columbia donor, Jew and billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, threatened to pull his money from the university, saying: “I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action are not taken.”
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Pro-Palestinian protests were also held at the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and California State Polytechnic University in Humboldt.
The NYPD, NYU and Columbia have all been contacted for comment.